Stakeholders break ground on Taunton's Hope VI housing development

Standing on the leveled site that was formerly the Fairfax Gardens public housing project, nearly a dozen figures from the public and private sectors came together on Tuesday to formally break ground on a new mixed-income development.

Standing on the leveled site that was formerly the Fairfax Gardens public housing project, nearly a dozen figures from the public and private sectors came together on Tuesday to formally break ground on a new mixed-income development.

“Hope VI is a project that represents opportunity for the city of Taunton,” Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. said, referring to the federal HOPE VI grant funding that’s supporting the project. “It takes not one, but two blighted properties and replaces that blight with hope. This project would not be possible without the help of many.”

Through a public-private partnership and with the support of a $22 million HOPE VI grant from HUD, the Taunton Housing Authority and nearly a dozen partners are working to replace the old Fairfax Garden housing project with mixed-income units on two sites.

The THA estimates that the project will be completed within 18 months.

The $71 million project’s plans call for 88 new energy-efficient townhouse-style units on the site of the former Fairfax Gardens, and 72 affordable rental units on the Parcel 6A brownfield site off Mason Street.

Funding is being provided by the Taunton Housing Authority, the city, HUD, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, MassDevelopment, RBC Capital Markets, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.

Many of the speakers at Tuesday’s ceremony praised former Congressman Barney Frank for his role in helping to secure federal grant funding.

“What I did was make sure federally collected tax dollars were spent to the benefit of the city in ways that the private sector couldn’t do alone,” Frank said.

THA and HUD have provided $16 million in HOPE VI funds for the project, with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development allocating an additional $3 million in federal low-income housing tax credits, and another $3 million coming from state low-income housing tax credits, which netted an approximately $54 million private equity raise provided by RBC Capital Markets. The city of Taunton provided $3 million in Section 108 Loan and Brownfield Economic Development Initiative Grant proceeds from HUD. Bank of America is providing approximately $33 million in construction loan financing and MassDevelopment has issued $14.4 million in tax-exempt bonds.

Under the partnership, Trinity Financial will own and operate the new buildings, while THA owns the land.

Officials said the funding will also allow for 30 “Soft Second” loans for first-time home buyers to promote home ownership in Taunton.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, praised the efforts of all involved and said the project would provide economic opportunity and construction jobs.

The old Fairfax Gardens housing development, which has been bulldozed, deteriorated over the years and had become an area marred by crime and drugs.

“Transforming one of the most distressed public housing projects in the state into a beautiful new neighborhood requires the participation of financial partners like those on the Taunton HOPE VI team who can fully appreciate the Taunton Housing Authority’s exciting vision for this new development, and who can work seamlessly with all parties in overcoming the many challenges encountered along the way,” Trinity project manager Mathieu Zahler said.

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THA estimates that approximately 30 percent of Fairfax Gardens’ residents are considering returning when the new project is completed.

“Through this, you were the rocks,” THA Director Colleen Doherty told a handful of former residents in attendance. “I can’t wait for the ribbon-cutting so you can come home to something you deserve … Although we know that not everyone will return, we know the people who return will be invested in this community and want to be citizens of Taunton.”